Tuesday’s failure to shoot down a single LTTE aircraft despite timely detection by radar has jolted the SLAF into investigating its limitations amidst evidence that the enemy has acquired a capability to neutralise the threat of a heat seeking missile attack.

An authoritative source said that Chinese F7s launched from Katunayake air base had failed to zero-in-on the enemy aircraft. "Their (F7s) missile systems failed to ‘lock on with the enemy aircraft," the source said. This would necessitate an overall review of the SLAF’s strategy, the source said. The military asserted that the LTTE could try to exploit the situation.

The initial detection had been made north-east of Mannar at 10.18 p.m. by 2D radar installed by the Government of India at the SLAF base at Vavuniya.

Thaladdi had come under attack within minutes after the detection, the source said.

Both the Indian radar and a Chinese 3D radar station located in the Western Province had detected the enemy aircraft but interceptors failed to carry out a successful missile strike. 2D radar provides direction and the distance of a target whereas the Chinese radar provides even the altitude of a target.

Last September, a heat seeking missile fired by an interceptor brought down one of the two LTTE aircraft returning to their base after attacking Vavuniya air base. Although the LTTE denied the SLAF claim, a senior military official pointed out that the LTTE had deployed only one aircraft to carry out Tuesday’s operation. Each previous raid directed at military and economic targets had involved two aircraft, the official said. "May be they are now left with one aircraft," he speculated. But the possibility of their having additional aircraft couldn’t be ruled out, he said.

The SLAF said that after dropping two bombs on Thaladdi base, the aircraft had veered westwards towards the sea and flew southwards before moving back towards land at a point near estuary of the Kelani River. The SLAF said that the aircraft had taken almost the same route back to its base in the Vanni. Under anti-aircraft fire, the LTTE plane had dropped two bombs over the Kelanitissa power facility.

The damage caused to two power stations, combined cycle power plant and diesel powered Fiat GT 7 installed within the Kelanitissa complex would cause a severe deficit in the country’s electricity demand.

Although Power Minister John Seneviratne and his Deputy Mahindananda Aluthgamage played down the issue, The Island learns that the GT 7 had been severely damaged. After inspecting the damaged facility, Seneviratne said that it would take about six months restore GT 7.

Addressing a hurriedly arranged press conference at Kelanitissa, the minister expressed confidence that the CEB would be able to meet any shortfall of supply through other means. Kelanitssa workers told The Island that both stations had been switched off pending investigations. They said that the GT 7 generated 110 mega watts while the combined cycle power plant generated 165 mega watts. Altogether, they generated 275 mega watts out of 530 mega watts produced by Kelanitissa facility.

They said the severe damage caused to the combined cycle power plant would deny the country the capacity to generate 55 mega watts almost free of charge. Of this particular plant, 110 mega watts were generated by using naphtha and 55 mega watts produced as a byproduct, they said. "This would be heavy burden on the taxpayer," a senior employee told The Island.

The SLAF is responsible for a series of highly successful air strikes against the LTTE since August 2006. The LTTE fighting capability has been greatly reduced to SLAF action directed against a range of targets.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

29 October 2008By Anatoly Medetsky / Staff WriterPrime Minister Vladimir Putin and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao agreed to build an oil pipeline to China and signed off on a raft of other agreements Tuesday.

The leaders also discussed ways to jointly counter the global financial crisis, just three weeks before leaders from Russia, China and other countries gather for an emergency summit in Washington to grapple with the same problem.

"It's hard to find another country in the world that is our partner with such a wide range of interaction," Putin said after the talks.

The filling of the new pipeline remained a question however, as Rosneft and Transneft will have to continue talks with China's state-owned CNPC and Chinese banks for another four weeks. The companies have until Nov. 25 to sign the final long-term oil supply deal that would give the Russian companies access to large Chinese loans, said Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who oversees energy policy.

"All aspects of cooperation have been discussed in the course of negotiations with the Chinese side, including the financial ones," Sechin said, Interfax reported. "We don't have any disagreements."

The Russian companies could take out export-backed loans from Chinese banks to finance their investment, Sechin said.

"The amount of the credit will be defined depending on the cost of the projects that the companies will implement. It is considerable," Sechin said.

Rosneft spokesman Nikolai Manvelov said the company would not comment on ongoing talks. Transneft spokesman Mikhail Barkov was busy and unavailable for comment Tuesday afternoon, his secretary said.

Transneft, the national oil pipeline monopoly that would carry the oil, signed an agreement with CNPC that sets the principles of constructing and operating the oil pipeline to China. It would begin at Skovorodino, some 70 kilometers from the Chinese border, and would be an offshoot of the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline that Russia is building to supply Asian markets.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Putin, denied that Russia and China were supposed to clinch the oil-for-loans deal Tuesday. "The issue is still being worked on," he said. "There was no goal to make this decision on any concrete date."

Industry sources said Monday that Russia and China would sign the deal Tuesday, Reuters reported. Under the deal, Rosneft would commit to shipping 300 million tons of oil over the next 20 years, 4 percent of China's current annual demand. Chinese banks would lend Rosneft and Transneft a total of $20 billion to $25 billion, at a time when the liquidity crunch is making borrowing harder. If the loan were agreed, Russia's state-run oil major Rosneft would get three-fifths of the funds, while state pipeline monopoly Transneft would obtain the other two-fifths.

Rosneft and CNPC apparently have yet to settle all of their points of contention, mainly the price, said Valery Nesterov, an energy analyst at Troika Dialog. Under the current supply deal that expires in 2010, Rosneft loses $5 to $7 per barrel when oil prices are high, he said. Rosneft now sends the oil by rail.

In other areas of possible cooperation, Russia and China should join forces to fight the global crisis and reform the global financial order, Wen said.

Speaking after his talks with Putin, Wen said the two had discussed an "opportunity to jointly counter a financial and economic crisis and strengthen our financial cooperation." "I think this all will be useful for the stabilization of our national economy, stabilization at the capital markets," he said in comments released by Putin's office.

Putin for his part urged China to jettison the dollar in favor of national currencies in bilateral trade.

Speaking at the Russia-China economic forum in Moscow, he said the world economy based on the dollar is "experiencing big problems," adding that both countries needed to move to "wider use of national currencies."

Putin has blamed the United States for its "irresponsibility" in letting the global crisis happen and sought to build support for the ruble in the past.

Russian and Chinese leaders are scheduled to participate in a summit in Washington on Nov. 15 that will discuss measures to stem the crisis and overhaul the world financial architecture.

In other deals, Rosatom agreed to build two more nuclear power reactors at the Tianwan Power Plant with China's State Nuclear Industry Corporation.

Russian arms maker Oboronprom and China's AVICopter signed a memorandum to jointly develop a civilian heavy helicopter. "We've had the blueprints, and they have the money," said Ilya Yakushev, a spokesman for Oboronprom, referring to China. China wants to develop and produce the helicopter, whose weight will be around 30 tons, on its own territory, said Russian Helicopters, Oboronprom's helicopter manufacturing subsidiary.

China is ready to finance the project, said the company, adding that any details were up for negotiation. The Mi-46 helicopter currently being developed in Russia could provide the basis for the new aircraft, the company said in a statement.

Russian Helicopters also signed a framework agreement to sell four older, Mi-26 heavy helicopters to China, the world's largest helicopter importer, the company said.

Anatoly Chubais, director of the State Nanotechnology Corporation, and Cao Jianlin, China's deputy science and technology minister, signed an agreement to create a strategic partnership on nanotechnologies between the two countries. Russia and China will jointly research nanotechnology and produce nano-based products in an industrial park in Suzhou, China, and later in Russia, the Russian company said in a statement.

Also at the forum, Mechel, the country's biggest coking coal producer, signed a memorandum of intent with China's state-run metals firm Minmetals aiming at establishing a long-term partnership on building and restructuring Mechel facilities, Mechel said in a statement.

Banking deals include an agreement between Gazprombank and the Export-Import Bank of China, and a framework agreement between Vneshekonombank, or VEB, and China Development Bank to jointly finance investment projects. Under the deal, Gazprombank would receive a $300 million credit line from the Export-Import Bank of China to finance Russian imports from China. VEB and China Development Bank will finance projects in energy, aviation, shipbuilding and transportation as well as eco-friendly projects, among others, the Russian bank said.

Russian Railways, which plans to cut spending next year and seek about $6 billion in loans, has asked China to join efforts to develop rail links from the Pacific Ocean to Europe, company president Vladimir Yakunin said. He said China had reacted positively to an offer to join the company's venture with Deutsche Bahn to carry out the project.

TAIPEI, Taiwan: Taiwan is considering the first-ever contacts between its military and the People's Liberation Army of mainland China but has set no timetable for such meetings, a senior Taiwanese defense official said Wednesday.

Defense ministry spokeswoman Lisa Chi's comments were a step further in Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou's efforts to improve long-strained ties with rival China, as Taiwan readies the red carpet for the arrival of a senior Chinese envoy next week.

Chi told The Associated Press that the ministry would start with bilateral contacts between retired and junior military officers first, and "then move on to high-level meetings between senior officials."

"No timetable has been set for the military exchange," Chi said. "It will come after the government holds discussions on economic and political issues with China."

TV news reports showed Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min telling local reporters on Tuesday that meetings between senior officials from the two sides would help reduce misunderstandings and the possibility of either side resorting to force.

President Ma Ying-jeou said earlier this year that he wants to push for discussions with China on economic issues first, and then proceed to tackle thorny diplomatic and security issues.

He said eventually he wants to sign a formal peace treaty with Beijing, though without specifying what it might contain.

Taiwan and China split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing continues to claim the island as part of its territory, and threatens to attack if Taiwan moves to formalize its independence.

Since Ma took office on May 20, he has made efforts to overturn his predecessor's fierce anti-China platform and seek better ties with the mainland.

Within a month of his inauguration, he sent a delegation to Beijing to resume bilateral talks after a hiatus of almost ten years. Through the talks, Ma was able to facilitate the beginning of regular weekend charter flights across the 100-mile-(160-kilometer-)wide Taiwan Strait, and secure an increasing number of mainland tourists to visit.

Ma will also see the arrival of Chairman Chen Yunlin of China's semiofficial Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, the most senior Chinese envoy yet to visit the island since the 1949 split, next week.

Chen will be holding talks with his Taiwanese counterpart Chiang Pin-kung, head of the Straits Exchange Foundation. Taiwanese officials have said the talks will focus only on economic issues including the expansion of weekend charter flights to weekday service.

ZHENGZHOU, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- A military exercise code-named "Vanguard-2008" that partly opened to foreign students studying at China's military academies concluded in the central Henan Province on Tuesday, winning applause from the foreign observers.

The week-long exercise was performed by a 2,200-strong armored brigade from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Jinan Military Area Command, whose armaments are said to be among the best in the PLA land forces.

Armed with equipment including armored cars, armed helicopters and transport helicopters, the brigade fought fictitious "Blue Army" targets on a mountainous island with live ammunition.

The brigade fired at nearly 70 targets with more than 7,000 rounds of various ammunitions during the exercise, according to brigade commander Zhang Jianfeng.

"We can see from the military exercise the commanders not only have the idea of a plan, but also they can implement the designs, "said Frouarl Loic Roger Horst, a French colonel who studies at China's University of National Defense.

"China is an important force for peace-keeping in the world. The exercise shows that we can cooperate more. We can deploy more people on the peace-keeping operation together," he added.

Army Major Siew Ha Chean from Malaysia, the only female in the 179-member foreign student group, said she was impressed by the use of combined armies of different services during the exercise, "that is the something very new to me because it's my first time to see it on the spot."

Maj Zahid Hamid Kiani, group captain of Pakistani air force, said with the exercise partly open to foreigners, China has sent a signal of peace-loving to the rest of the world.

The 179 foreigners, from 67 countries, are mostly first year students at the Beijing-based University of National Defense and the Nanjing Army Command College in eastern Jiangsu Province.

It is the largest group of foreign military students to observe a military exercise of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

The annual drill is divided into four stages -- change of combat readiness, long-distance maneuvers, strategy planning, and combat. It is designed to test the capacity of the brigade on carrying out joint action with different arms of services in mountainous areas.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

"Reflections on the Chinese Army’s Transformation and Reform"by Lt General (Ret) Li Jijun of Academy of Military Science.

In 1997 as part of faculty exchange program, Lieutenant General Li Jijun addressed United States War College with a speech titled “Traditional Military Thinking and the Defenses Strategy of China”

You can find that speech here. http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB82.pdfwith the following Introduction from 1997:

Lieutenant General Li Jijun is the Vice President of theChinese People's Liberation Army's Academy of Military Science.The Academy is the principal military institution for developingmilitary doctrine and strategic theory in the People's Republicof China. Established in 1958 on the northwestern side ofBeijing, the Academy has a mostly military staff of about 500full-time researchers, engineers, and specialists, some of whomare scholars of national repute and tutors of doctoralcandidates.The Academy is more than a national defense university. Itconducts research on national defense issues, armed forcesdevelopment, and military operations. It organizes, plans, andcoordinates academic endeavors throughout the People's LiberationArmy (PLA) and maintains a broad range of contacts with all PLAunits. In addition to performing theoretical analyses andacademic study, the Academy deploys senior faculty teams toaugment operational headquarters during times of conflict.Moreover, the Academy performs consultant functions for China'sCentral Military Commission and the General Departments of thePLA.

More than 100 Chinese defense and aerospace companies, including government organizations, are scheduled to exhibit. The exhibition center has been renovated, which consisted of "rebuilding and decorations, including renovating all three exhibition halls, the press center, chalets and the comprehensive village," said a press release.

Show officials are expecting more than 200,000 public visitors, compared with 180,000 in 2006. The increase is due to the planned attendance of three Chinese astronauts, along with one or more of the re-entry vehicles.

China conducted its first space walk in September. It was the third manned space mission in five years. China has a stated goal of putting a space station in orbit and conducting a manned mission to the moon by 2020.

This year, China is expected to finally display the J-10 "Vigorous Dragon" fighter. Show officials promised in 2006 to display the aircraft, but the fighter never appeared. With a delta-canard configuration, the J-10 is a single-engine, multirole fighter built by the Chengdu Aircraft Corp.

It has been the subject of much speculation since its first test flight in 1998. The Chinese media finally acknowledged its existence in 2006, despite years of reporting in the international press. Based on the Israeli-designed Lavi fighter, it is considered a competitor to Lockheed Martin's F-16 on the international arms market and a model for its stealth fighter program.

Reportedly, Chengdu is working on a J-13 stealth fighter based on the J-10, and the Shenyang Aircraft Corp. is working on the J-12 stealth fighter based on a different design.

Show officials would give no details on what military aircraft would be on display, but the 2006 show included 52 commercial and military aircraft, including the Hongdu L-15 Advanced Trainer, along with 10 different UAVs, including the Tianyi (Sky Wing) and Soar Dragon UAVs.

There were also new conceptual models on display, including the stealthy Anjian (Dark Sword) unmanned combat aerial vehicle. This year, helicopter deals are expected in both the commercial and military market.

"China has become the fastest-growing market in the world" for helicopters, said a show press release, with 1,600 new helicopters to be procured by China by 2010. "Currently, there are only 400 helicopters in use in China's public service, such as police, rescue and fire control, far from being enough," said a press release.

The recent earthquake in Sichuan Province demonstrated a strong need for more helicopters.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Ecuador Looks to Buy Arms in China

Beijing, Oct 14 (Prensa Latina) Ecuadorian Defense Minister Marcelo Delgado announced his presence in China responds to the interest of his government to open their doors to other markets for the supply of their armed forces.

Delgado is now visiting Beijing to closely know the military industry of the Asian nation and the possibility of evaluating transportation materials and other equipment necessary for the modernization of Ecuador Army.

In interview with China Defense Minister Liang Guanglie, both agreed Ecuador is to evaluate some of these equipment to determine they are the ones needed for the conditions of Ecuador.

Ecuadorian Minister recalled US and Israel have traditionally been the suppliers of armaments for Ecuador.

After visiting Beijing, the delegation will go to Nanking, where there is a company producer of radars, as well as places of military interest in Hangzhou and Shanghai.

VLADIVOSTOK, October 14 (Itar-Tass) - A squadron of combatant ships of the naval forces of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of China, called here on Tuesday for a visit. The squadron consists of the destroyer "Tai Zhou" and the guided missile frigate "Ma Anshan".

An officer in the information and public relations service of Russia's Pacific Feet (PF) has told Itar-Tass that the naval squadron's four-day visit is made under the flag of Vice-Admiral Xu Hungmeng, Commander of the PLA's East Sea (Sea of Japan) Fleet, who arrived in the main city of the Primorsky Territory for this purpose earlier in the day.

"The present meeting between Russian and Chinese navy men pursues the main aim: to promote a further development of naval cooperation between the navies of our two countries," the PF information service officer pointed out.

The programme for the visit is traditional: the PF Command and the PT administration chief will receive Chinese seamen. The programme also envisages bus tours, basketball competitions, and a number of official functions and informal get-togethers of the seamen of the two countries. Hosts on the Russian side are the large anti-submarine ships Admiral Panteleyev and Admiral Tributs.

This is a fifth call at Vladivostok by a Chinese naval squadron. Last time naval ships of the PLA and PF Marines participated in large-scale bilateral anti-terrorist exercises "Peace Mission-2005" that took place in the area of the Liaodong Peninsula. http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13169248&PageNum=0